There is a mind-numbing brilliance to it all. And on Sunday night, after the Steelers had been humbled, 36-17, and the Patriots had advanced to their seventh Super Bowl with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, the first and probably most legitimate response was, "Of course they did."

Yet as that postseason brilliance goes from years to decades, there also can be no denying how successfully and skillfully Belichick and his organization have been able to sift through rosters and lists of free agents and unheralded college players to continually discover and acquire diamonds to accessorize their dynasty.

But the Patriots, the NFL's model on-the-field franchise for nearly 15 years, found their way, winning home field...

The season started for the New England Patriots knee deep in the backwash of the Deflategate scandal, their quarterback suspended for four games, their season threatened with disarray.

But the Patriots, the NFL's model on-the-field franchise for nearly 15 years, found their way, winning home field...

(JOHN ALTAVILLA)

The last time the Patriots won the Super Bowl it was Malcolm Butler. Last weekend in the divisional playoff victory over Houston, it was Dion Lewis becoming the first player in an NFL postseason game to score touchdowns rushing, receiving and returning kickoffs. On Sunday night, it was Chris Hogan. It was a night like he'd never had before. It was a postseason night no Patriots receiver, at least in terms of yardage, ever had before.

Yes, Hogan's the hero.

"It has been long journey," he said. "I'm beyond ecstatic."

It's uncanny, really. Whether it's Xs and Os virtuosity or Ravens coach John Harbaugh complaining about "substitution trickery," or the Colts calling out Brady for underinflated footballs, it's always something with the Patriots in the postseason.

So how's this one for a knee slapper?

The ol' flea flicker to the lacrosse player who was born in West Haven and turned down a football scholarship offer from UConn trick?

Hey, why not? Belichick played football and lacrosse at Wesleyan.

Hogan would finish with a Patriots' postseason record 180 yards on nine catches. He caught two touchdown passes for the first time in his career, regular season or playoff game. Think about this for a second. Hogan caught 12 passes during his entire college career of one year at Monmouth.

Only an hour earlier outside our nation's Capitol, Donald J. Trump had delivered his 16-minute inauguration speech as the 45th president of the United States. And now it was Tom Brady's turn to step to the lectern at Gillette Stadium for a matter of equal import.

According to an ESPN story in 2013, Hogan, out of Ramapo High in New Jersey, turned down football scholarship offers from Temple, Akron, Rutgers and from UConn and Randy Edsall. He had bigger lacrosse offers from Syracuse, Maryland, Virginia and Penn State, so he decided to go to Happy Valley. Not to play football.

Hogan scored 11 goals as a freshman. He scored 29 as a junior. He scored 15 as a senior, but that was because he was switched to defensive midfield. It is that sophomore year of 2008, however, that would change his athletic history and on Sunday night put an indelible mark on the Patriots' rich history.

"Chris has been incredible," said Brady, who set a Patriots postseason game record with 384 passing yards. "He made big plays for us all season and he made big plays in the most important game of the year for us."

Hogan suffered a high ankle sprain that sophomore year at Penn State. He graduated at Penn State, but still had a year of athletic eligibility remaining and decided to use it on football. Not with the Nittany Lions. That was too big of a gulp. He picked off three passes as a defensive back for Monmouth. He also had 147 yards in receptions — or 33 yards fewer than he had Sunday night — among those 12 catches.

He wasn't drafted.

On Sunday night, Hogan struck a mighty blow for all the undrafted and for all the Patriots players who poked their heads from the unheralded to become playoff heroes.

"This has been a long journey, but I've worked really hard to get here," Hogan said. "This is a night I'll remember for the rest of my career, probably the rest of my life. Someone told me this is a game you'll look back on 30 years from now and remember exactly what happened.

"I'm so happy for everyone in the locker room, coaches, who have worked so hard to get here.

Late in the first quarter, the Patriots pushed the lead to 10-0 as Brady found Hogan for the fourth time on an 80-yard drive. The Patriots went to a hurry-up offense that vexed the Steelers. A crossing pattern with Danny Amendola and Hogan would baffle the Steelers secondary and Brady found Hogan alone in the back of the end zone. The communication between cornerback Ross Cockrell and safety Robert Golden was terrible.

"I'm not saying me personally [knowing he'd had a big night], but in general with the receivers, if they were going to play a lot of zone, we did a great job. Josh McDaniels called great plays. Tom found us when we were open.

"Every time you're on the field with No. 12, it's special. You never take that for granted. He's the greatest."

With Le'Veon Bell sent to the sidelines with a groin injury, DeAngelo Williams finished an 84-drive with a 5-yard touchdown run and Chris Boswell promptly shanked the extra point. Stuff like this also seems to happen to the visiting team in the playoffs in Foxborough. Then again, that's why you play for home field advantage.

The Steelers secondary was bedazzled and befuddled. With 7:43 left in the second quarter, offensive coordinator McDaniels brought down the hammer. Yep, the old flea flicker to the lacrosse player trick. After taking a handoff, Dion Lewis flipped the ball back to Brady and he found Hogan wide open behind Steelers safety Mike Mitchell.

"It is just something we have been working on," Hogan said. "We've been waiting for the opportunity to use it. Everyone nailed it."

In a quarter and a half of an AFC title game, Hogan had seven catches for 117 yards. The Steelers failed to punch in a touchdown on four chances from the 1 at the end of the first half. In the third quarter, Brady found Hogan open again, a 24-yard gain, for his eighth catch that led to a second Stephen Gostkowski field goal and really it was over.

"Chris played tremendous," cornerback Logan Ryan said. "He plays with so much passion and such high effort. Something I noticed at practice, if you don't match that passion, he'll make you look bad."

Hogan was signed and released by the 49ers in 2011. He was signed, put on the practice squad and released by the Giants later that year. He signed a contract with Miami early in 2012 and got some national publicity with the nickname some Dolphins pinned on him on the HBO "Hard Knocks" program. They called him 7-Eleven, because he always seemed to find a way to get open. He couldn't find a way to stick with a team, however, until after he signed with the Bills. He had 10 catches in 2013, 41 in his breakout season in 2014 and 36 more in 2015.

In March, the Patriots signed Hogan as a restricted free agent to a reported three-year, $12 million deal. Without much cap space, the Bills declined to match the offer. The Patriots chased some bigger free agent names like Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu, but they signed elsewhere. Patriots fans started to freak a bit. Enter Hogan.

He had a career best 114 receiving yards against the Browns in October. He caught a career-long 79-yard touchdown pass against the Ravens. He finished with 38 catches, 680 yards and four touchdowns. His 17.89 yards per catch ranked behind only DeSean Jackson of the Redskins.

Make no mistake. Hogan is a terrific athlete, both in terms of raw speed and athleticism and hand-to-eye coordination. Golf, ping pong, wiffle ball, punting, drop-kicking. He pumped out 225 pounds, 28 times at Pro Day, he threw a pass this year with the Patriots. Still, this night was different. This was New England legend, one that didn't end until Martellus Bennett grabbed the pompoms and danced with the cheerleaders. Hogan could only watch in delight.

"I'm so grateful the Patriots gave me a chance," Hogan said. "This is was the first time I'd ever experienced this. [The confetti], running through the tunnel, it was special.

"It's been a long journey."

One, at least this season, that will end in the Super Bowl in Houston.